The Houston Rockets committed one of the worst blunders of the season late in their Tuesday contest against the Brooklyn Nets.
The Rockets seemed to have a win in hand, leading the Nets 97-93 with just 9.1 seconds left at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. Houston needed just one stop to seal the victory.
However, the basketball gods wanted to make things interesting. Nets forward Keon Johnson drained a three-pointer to trim the deficit to one. The Rockets still appeared to be in control with possession and the lead.
But Amen Thompson and Dillon Brooks got crossed up on the inbounds pass. The ball rolled into open space, allowing Nets wing Tosan Evbuomwan to tip the ball to a wide-open D’Angelo Russell. The veteran guard splashed a top-of-the-key three-pointer to take the lead in stunning fashion.
WHAT THE HELL ARE THE ROCKETS DOING?? pic.twitter.com/KeFkytedH2
— Brooklyn Netcast (@BrooklynNetcast) February 5, 2025
Houston inexplicably did not call timeout after the first made three. A timeout would have allowed them to advance the ball and get organized with a sideline-out-of-bounds play.
Instead, the Rockets used the timeout to set up their final chance to salvage a victory with 3.1 seconds left on the clock. But Jalen Green bricked the potential go-ahead three-pointer as time expired.
Russell had been having a miserable game up until the closing seconds. He was 2/14 from the field before draining the most important shot of the game but still ended up being the hero.
